{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/finance-act-2026/section-239",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/finance-act-2026/section-239.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/2026/11",
  "legislation_title": "Finance Act 2026",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/finance-act-2026",
  "path": "section/239",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "239",
  "heading": "Reasonable excuse",
  "text": "(1) A person is not liable to a penalty under section 234, 235 or 238 if the person satisfies an authorised officer of Revenue and Customs or, on an appeal to the tribunal, the tribunal that there is a reasonable excuse for the contravention.\n(2) If a person had a reasonable excuse for a contravention but the excuse has ceased, the person is to be treated as having continued to have the excuse if the contravention is remedied without unreasonable delay after the excuse ceased.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I1",
      "text": "S. 239 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 249(2)"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I2",
      "text": "S. 239 in force at 14.7.2026 for specified purposes by S.I. 2026/807, reg. 3"
    },
    {
      "type": "I",
      "label": "I3",
      "text": "S. 239 in force at 18.8.2026 for specified purposes by S.I. 2026/807, reg. 4(1)(a) (with reg. 5)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [
    {
      "type": "coming into force",
      "affecting": "uksi/2026/807",
      "affecting_title": "The Finance Act 2026 (Registration of Tax Advisers) (Appointed Days and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026"
    },
    {
      "type": "coming into force",
      "affecting": "uksi/2026/807",
      "affecting_title": "The Finance Act 2026 (Registration of Tax Advisers) (Appointed Days and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026"
    },
    {
      "type": "coming into force",
      "affecting": "uksi/2026/807",
      "affecting_title": "The Finance Act 2026 (Registration of Tax Advisers) (Appointed Days and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2026/11/section/239",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T08:42:24.914774+00:00",
    "licence": "OGL-UK-3.0",
    "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
    "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
  }
}